Clò Mòr Festival

Clo Mòr Festival of Harris Tweed to be held at An Lanntair as part of the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.

Harris Tweed will be featured at the heart of An Lanntair’s summer exhibition programme in 2016 and will culminate with the Clo Mòr festival of Harris Tweed. The festival has been created from a partnership between An Lanntair and The Harris Tweed Authority as part of the Scottish Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design and will be delivered as part of the Creative Place Award Winning project Bealach. The Clo Mòr Festival of Harris Tweed will be a truly sensational event that aims to celebrate and promote innovation in Harris Tweed on a national and international scale. The event will shine a spotlight on the world-class designers working with Harris Tweed, while at the same time connecting local people and visitors to the achievements of the industry. This will be a pioneering new event that showcases innovation in Harris Tweed on an international stage, including; a Weekend Festival of Harris Tweed designers, producers, demonstrations and talks; an exhibition, From the Land comes the Cloth, curated by Ian Lawson, connecting product from top Harris Tweed designers with his highly acclaimed photography; the launch of a specially-commissioned kinetic sculpture from a traditional Hattersley Loom, by international innovators, Sharmanka and once in a lifetime tours taking in the Harris Tweed landscape. Elly Fletcher CEO of An Lanntair said: ‘The Clo Mòr Festival presents us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the successes of this remarkable industry and really capture the story of Harris Tweed; from the Outer Hebrides to London Fashion Week. We will be working with the Harris Tweed Authority and a variety of industry players from across the islands to launch this innovative festival at An Lanntair in the summer of 2016. There will be everything from world class exhibitions from the highly acclaimed Ian Lawson and internationally renowned Sharmanka, to a weekend event of film, waulking songs, talks and demonstrations from mill workers, weavers, artisans and designers, including tours across the Harris Tweed landscape.’ Alan Mackenzie, VisitScotland Islands Manager said: ‘The Clo Mòr Festival of Harris Tweed is the perfect way of celebrating and promoting innovation in Harris Tweed over the years, and I hope it will attract even Mòre visitors to the Outer Hebrides. 2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity to boost tourism in every corner of Scotland. From textiles to technology, architecture to fashion and design, the yearlong programme will shine the spotlight on our greatest assets and icons, as well as our hidden gems.’ Visit the website www.lanntair.com.